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Raya elMora
Raya elMora was a female Payav of the nation-state of Larenda on planet Mestiko in the 23rd century. Early Career Raya's childhood was spent in the town of Hur-tuuliie, on the banks of the river S'rii Tuuliie. ( ) As a youth, she was very close with her elor (grandmother), who she called Elee, and would often turn to her for advice on matters both personal and professional. While attending university, Raya studied to become an environmental sciences teacher, and joined a student organization committed to maintaining the purity of Mestiko's land and water. While still a student, Raya testified before the Larendan Convocation on the need to protect wetland regions by imposing stricter emissions standards on manufacturers. The positive reaction she received from this testimony first inspired her to consider a career in public service. Circa 2263, after some time as a teacher, Raya was selected by the people of her province to be their Servant to the Convocation. During her initial session in the governmental body, veteran Servant Matthi orJurbes served as her mentor. Her earlier activism and outspokenness caused many of her colleagues to see her as a young radical, and most notably conflicted on several occasions with the members of the Atmospheric and Astronomic Council. However, after seven seasons in the Convocation, she came to be a respected member, to the point where the Presiding Servant began inquiring about her suitability for a leadership position. ( ) "The Pulse" In 2265, after a rogue pulsar passed through the Mestiko system, Raya found herself one of the few surviving members of the Larendan government. She was approached by the surviving remnants of the Zamestaad, Mestiko's planetary council, and made a member of that body. At that time, Raya was made aware of the existence of the United Federation of Planets, their (unsuccessful) efforts to prevent the disaster that had befallen their world. Raya accepted an invitation from Captain James T. Kirk to visit the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]], where she was given his personal assurance that the Federation would do all they could to help her people recover. While somewhat skeptical of his ability to keep such a promise, Raya recognized Kirk's personal determination, and the two formed a bond of mutual respect. ( ) ''Jo'Zamestaad By 2267, Raya had risen to become ''Jo'Zamestaad -- the leader of the Zamestaad. That year she welcomed Kirk and the Enterprise back to Mestiko, where they deployed a system of satellite designed to repair the damage done to Mestiko's atmosphere by The Pulse. However, their professional friendship was strained when Raya also accepted overtures from the Klingon Empire to help in Mestiko's recovery. Even after learning that fellow Zamestaad Councillor Traal had conspired with Klingon Commander Kor to overthrow the government, she remained open to the idea of accepting assistance from the Klingons. ( ) Scandal Circa 2272, Raya discovered that one of her long-time political allies, community leader and entrepreneur Alur orJada, was dealing with the Klingons, importing weaponry and other goods to Mestiko from the Empire. At first, Raya believed they both shared the same goal of strengthening Mestiko, and provided him with political cover. By the time she realized his intentions were less than benign, she and many of her colleagues in the Zamestaad were too deeply involved to do anything without endangering themselves. Following the death of Alur, Raya admitted her involvement with him and the Klingons to the public. These revelations led to political chaos and diminished her public standing, though she was able to retain her position as Jo'Zamestaad. ( ) The mar-Atyya Revolution While Raya was weakened by the scandal, the mar-Atyya religious order had managed to increase their political influence, aligning with the Payavist Inward Party and other anti-Federation factions. The fears these groups stoked of bad intentions on the part of the Federation came to a head in 2274, when a massive forest fire erupted in one of Mestiko's newly-replanted forests, and the Enterprise attempted to use shipboard phasers to cut a firebreak. This led to worldwide rioting, forcing Raya and the entire Zamestaad into exile. The former government was offered sanctuary by the Kazarites, and given an area of the Jarol Desert on in which to live. Raya was at first bitter with the Federation, and Kirk in particular, for leaving her to this fate. However, she and her people, with the Kazarites' help, were able to make the desert bloom. At the same time, the policies of the mar-Atyya government, headed by Odra maVolan, affected a reversal of Mestiko's ecological recovery, leading to a rise in dissent and waves of emigration to Kazar. Some Payav began to consider putting down permanent roots on Kazar, including Cadi orMalan, who was Raya's romantic partner during their years in exile. However, Raya refused to give up the dream of eventually returning to her homeworld, a dream which drove a wedge between herself and Cadi. ( ) Return to Power By 2282, dissent against Odra's government had become so powerful, that he and his ruling Synod were forced to allow elections between the mar-Atyya and the Payav Restoration Movement. Despite efforts to sway the election, and then to shut it down completely, the mar-Atyya were defeated and Raya returned to power. Ties were quickly reformed with the Federation, and many of the lessons learned in cultivating the Jarol Desert were successfully applied to Mestiko. ( ) The Death of Elee In 2291, as plans were in the works to commemorate the twelveyear anniversary of Raya's return to Mestiko, the Torye, a political opposition group, attacked the Discovery Center on Mestiko's moon, Varnex. There they stole a prototype subspace-disruption weapon, with the intention first of embarrassing the Jo'Zamestaad, and then of overthrowing her and her government. Again, Raya enlisted the help of James Kirk who, with the assistance of Klingon Captain Kang, neutralized the Torye threat. Sadly, Raya suffered a personal loss in this same period, as Elee passed away while Raya was off-planet dealing with this crisis. Raya would later scatter her elor's ashes over Tuuliie Bay. ( ) Following Elee's death, Raya resolved to overcome her fear of heights and become a pilot, as her elor had been. ( ) The Plenary Council In 2293, at the request of the Federation, Raya called a Plenary Council to consider the question of whether Mestiko would petition for membership into the United Federation of Planets, a process which was expected to last for at least a month, if not longer. Raya herself was undecided as to her own opinion on the matter, and in fact bonded with Klingon Chancellor Azetbur, who represented the Klingon Empire at the conference. ( ) elMora, Raya